ES2978998T3 - Moving parts sorting facility - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A sorting unit for parts moving along a conveyor belt comprising a transfer device (3) comprising a roller (31) rotatably movable above the belt and a plurality of gripping tools (32) on the periphery of the roller each capable of selectively removing a part from the belt when the tools are brought into a removal position, each tool comprising a suction cup (321) fixed to a tubular support sleeve (322) which is capable of creating a connection between the suction cup and an internal chamber (312) of the roller, said connection being maintained at a negative pressure with respect to the surrounding air, all suction cups brought into the removal position being depressurized, each sleeve being mounted so as to be translatably movable along its axis through a wall (311) of the roller, an actuator (34) being designed to selectively control, in the removal position, the movement of the sleeve. so that the suction cup engages with the piece to be removed. (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Moving parts sorting facility

The invention relates to a sorting installation for moving parts on a conveyor belt comprising a part transfer device suitable for selectively removing parts identified as non-conforming from said conveyor belt, the part transfer device comprising a roller suitable for being mounted so as to be rotatably movable transversely above said conveyor belt and a plurality of gripping tools extending radially on the periphery of said roller, each suitable for selectively removing a part from said conveyor belt when brought to an extraction position defined by a first angular position of said roller and for releasing said removed part when brought to a release position defined by a second angular position of said roller, each gripping tool comprising a suction cup fixed to a tubular support sleeve mounted on said roller and opening into the interior of said roller, said tubular support sleeve defining an internal duct provided with a lateral orifice suitable for creating a communication between said suction cup and a main chamber arranged inside said roller maintained under pressure with respect to ambient air.

A preferred application of the invention is in the poultry field for the processing of poultry eggs. For example, in the context of an industrial installation for grading eggs based on the results of visual inspection operations, in order to detect non-conforming eggs for intended later use, it is known to place the eggs according to regularly distributed locations in compartments arranged in series on a conveyor belt, which carries them in movement through a visual inspection examination station, intended to detect non-conforming eggs, and then towards an egg extraction station, in order to separate those that have been detected as non-conforming.

The person skilled in the art knows a sorting installation as described above in the preamble, in its application to the processing of poultry eggs, specifically by the example provided by patent document EP3194309 which describes an installation according to the preamble of claim 1.

The installation described in this document includes an egg extraction station which implements an egg transfer device of the rotating drum type arranged transversely above the conveyor belt. This drum or roller carries on its periphery suction cup gripping tools, actuated by the rotation of the roller in a so-called extraction position facing the conveyor belt to grab the eggs identified as non-conforming, and then in a so-called egg release position, determined along the rotation of the roller, where the eggs extracted by means of the suction cup gripping tools are released, for example into an egg receiving container. To this end, a pressure chamber, arranged inside the roller, is kept under vacuum with respect to the ambient air and each suction cup is mounted integrally with a fixed support on the roller, provided with an internal conduit suitable for putting the suction cup in communication with the chamber of the roller under vacuum, this conduit being equipped with a controlled valve to open or close said communication. When the connection is opened, in the tool extraction position, a depression is guaranteed in the suction cup, which holds the egg by suction. Then, when the connection is closed, in the tool release position, the suction cup no longer experiences the depression, which allows the egg to be released into the receiving container.

Such a system is particularly advantageous as it is perfectly compatible with the processing of continuously moving parts in series and can therefore support high processing rates.

However, this installation known from the prior art has a certain number of drawbacks. Indeed, the ability to ensure reliable and effective extraction of non-compliant eggs detected from the conveyor belt is based on an adequate positioning of the suction cups with respect to the level of the eggs in movement, when they are brought by the roller to the extraction position in front of the belt. Thus, during the rotation of the roller, in the extraction position, the suction cups must be positioned with respect to the level of the eggs in such a way that they come into contact with the eggs moving in front of the suction cups on the conveyor belt, thus allowing the eggs to be extracted to be correctly held by suction when the suction cups in question are put into depression by controlling the opening of the corresponding valve. Indeed, if contact with the egg is not correctly made in the extraction position at the time when the suction cup is put into depression, the suction is not sufficient to extract the egg.

However, it often happens that processed eggs are of different sizes. The level of eggs in motion is therefore not homogeneous everywhere, which makes it difficult to manage the correct positioning of the suction cups with respect to the level of the eggs in order to ensure effective extraction. This problem of a lack of homogeneity in the level of the eggs in motion can also be accentuated by a lack of flatness in the compartments in which the eggs are received and which are operated in series one after the other on the conveyor belt. Therefore, even by adjusting the position of the rotating roller as best as possible to a level more or less far from the conveyor belt, the passage of the suction cups to the extraction position does not guarantee the correct extraction of all the eggs detected as non-compliant.

Furthermore, the implementation of an opening and closing valve to ensure the selective depression of each suction cup when it moves to the extraction position requires a relatively complex arrangement of parts.

Finally, as we have seen, the success of the egg extraction operation depends on the fact that the suction cups actuated by the roller in the extraction position come into contact with the moving eggs. In other words, at each passage to the extraction position during the rotation of the roller, it is planned that all the suction cups come into contact with the eggs, including the suction cups that will ultimately not be controlled to grab an egg. This systematic contact of the moving eggs with all the suction cups brought into the extraction position is likely to represent a non-negligible health risk.

In this context, the present invention aims to propose a sorting facility free of at least one of the aforementioned limitations.

To this end, the installation of the invention, which is otherwise in accordance with the generic definition provided by the preceding preamble, is essentially characterised in that all the suction cups brought to the extraction position are put into depression, each tubular support sleeve being mounted so as to be mobile in translation along its axis on said roller, an actuator being adapted to selectively control, in said extraction position, the movement of said tubular support sleeve in the direction of said conveyor belt such that said suction cup holds said piece to be extracted.

Therefore, among the suction cups, all set to depression, which are brought into the extraction position by the rotation of the roller, only those which must actually grip a moving part identified as non-conforming are brought into contact with said part, thanks to the selective translation control of its support sleeve, which allows the suction cup to be moved radially from a position close to the roller to a position far from it in the direction of the conveyor belt, where it is intended to come into contact with the part to be gripped.

In other words, in the installation of the prior art, the suction cups are fixed and, when they are brought into the extraction position along the rotation of the roller, they are not yet in depression, but are all in contact with the eggs, the extraction being carried out by selective control of the putting into depression only of the suction cups that are actually to grip the eggs. On the contrary, in the installation of the invention, the suction cups are movable and, when they are brought into the extraction position along the rotation of the roller, they are not in contact with the eggs, but, on the contrary, they are all put into depression, the extraction then being carried out by selective control of the putting into contact with the eggs only of the suction cups that are actually to grip the eggs, thanks to the radial displacement capacity of the suction cups offered by their mobile support sleeve in translation. The result is a double advantage, both in terms of health, as contact with the eggs is drastically reduced, limited in practice only to the suction cups that must actually extract an egg, and also in terms of simplification, making the management of the pneumatic circuit for putting the suction cups into depression less complex.

Furthermore, thanks to the radial displacement capacity of the suction cups in the direction of the conveyor belt under the effect of the translational mobility of their support sleeve with respect to the rotating roller, this arrangement offers the possibility of adapting to parts of substantially different dimensions.

Advantageously, said tubular support sleeve is constituted by a hollow tube element that extends on both sides of the wall of said roller, through a wall-passage guide washer, which includes a rod projecting from an external face of said wall, mounted by a first end in a hole in said wall, said hollow tube element being connected by means of a sliding joint with said guide washer allowing a relative translation movement between said hollow tube element and said guide washer.

Advantageously, the internal surface of said rod includes two cylindrical protuberances supporting an external surface of said hollow tube, arranged at the respective ends of said rod, and connected to each other by a retracted internal cylindrical surface defining a secondary chamber, said cylindrical protuberance supporting arranged on the side of said first end of said rod being provided with a plurality of longitudinal grooves intended to put said secondary chamber in communication with said main chamber of the roller.

Advantageously, said hollow tube element can move between a retracted position inside the roller, under the effect of the depression prevailing in the main chamber arranged inside the roller, in which said hole is in direct communication with said main chamber to transfer the depression to said suction cup, and a deployed position towards the conveyor belt under the action of said actuator, in which said hole is in direct communication with said secondary chamber to transfer the depression to said suction cup.

Advantageously, said rod has, at its first end, a collar by means of which it is suitable for resting on a peripheral edge of said hole, by means of a sealing gasket.

Preferably, said actuator includes a cylinder mounted within said roller, adapted to push said tubular support sleeve through said wall of said roller toward the exterior of said roller.

Advantageously, said installation includes a cam-forming means arranged inside said roller, fixed with respect to the rotation of said roller, said cam being profiled so that, during the rotation of said roller after reaching said extraction position, said tubular support sleeve is suitable to meet the cam and follow the cam path so as to force the displacement of said tubular support sleeve towards the outside of said roller until said hole is at least partially placed in the open air, in the release position.

Advantageously, the first and second angular positions, respectively defining said extraction and release positions, are offset by at least 180° relative to each other.

Advantageously, said installation includes a control module adapted to provide instructions on the speed of rotation of said roller so that the rotation of the suction cups is actuated with a speed and a phase synchronized in the movement of the pieces.

Preferably, said installation is adapted to the processing of poultry eggs, said transfer device being arranged downstream of a visual inspection station intended to detect non-conforming eggs with a view to their removal from said conveyor belt by means of said transfer device.

Other particularities and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the description below of a particular embodiment of the invention, provided for information purposes but not as a limitation, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 represents a schematic view of the piece sorting installation moving on a conveyor belt according to the invention;

- Figures 2 to 6 are schematic sectional views of the transfer device of the installation of Figure 1, at different stages of rotation of the roller carrying the suction cup gripping tools between the extraction position and the release position, among which:

- Figure 2 represents a schematic sectional view of the transfer device, in an angular position of the roller corresponding to the extraction position for the suction cup shown with respect to the conveyor belt, in this case representing the tubular support sleeve associated with the suction cup to be controlled in the retracted position,

- Figure 3 represents a sectional view similar to that of Figure 2, in which the tubular support sleeve associated with the suction cup to be controlled is represented in this case in the deployed position under the effect of the actuator integrated in the roller,

- Figure 4 represents a sectional view of the transfer device illustrated above, in a rear angular position of the roller, in which the tubular support sleeve associated with the suction cup comes into contact with the cam-forming means integrated in the roller,

- Figures 5 and 6 represent sectional views of the transfer device illustrated above, showing the arrival of the roller at an angular position corresponding to the release position for the suction cup shown,

- Figure 7 represents a schematic view in longitudinal section and in top view of the wall passage guide washer, on which the tubular support sleeve is mounted.

The description that will be given below corresponds to a particular mode of implementation of the invention, according to which the installation for processing the moving pieces is an installation for processing poultry eggs. Therefore, with reference to Figure 1, the eggs to be processed 1 are each arranged in a cavity 11 of a transport compartment 10, whose cavities are organized in a series of rows and columns parallel to each other. The different compartments are arranged one after the other on a transport line that includes a conveyor belt 2, driven in movement along its longitudinal axis to a station for extracting the eggs identified as non-conforming, which includes a transfer device 3, adapted to transfer these non-conforming eggs from the conveyor belt on which they move to a collection area for the extracted eggs, outside the transport line. Non-conforming eggs will have been identified as such at a visual inspection station, for example a visiometry examination station (not shown), placed upstream (with respect to the direction of movement of the eggs) of the extraction station on the movement line.

The transfer device 3 comprises a roller 31 mounted rotatably above the conveyor belt 2, with an axis transverse to the axis of movement of the conveyor belt 2. The eggs are thus driven into movement by passing under the roller 31. The end walls of the roller 31 are supported by bearings 12, intended to support the roller 31 and to ensure the rotational guidance between two end supports 13. The position of the bearings 12 relative to the supports makes it possible to adjust the position of the roller 31 relative to the underlying conveyor belt 2. The connection between the roller and the bearings is made by a rotating joint making it possible to ensure a tight connection. The internal volume of the roller 31, delimited by its wall 311, defines an internal chamber 312, called the main chamber, intended to be kept under pressure with respect to the ambient air, by the effect of a vacuum pump (not shown). A tube (not shown) makes it possible to connect the inside of the roller 31 and the vacuum pump. Rotating seals are provided around the tube at the level of its passage through the end wall of the roller in order to ensure the tightness of the roller and the maintenance of the low pressure prevailing in it.

The installation also comprises motor means 14 for driving the rotation of the roller 30, as well as a control module 15, intended to control the rotation of the roller in synchronism with the movement of the eggs on the conveyor belt 2.

The roller 31 carries on its periphery a plurality of gripping tools 32 arranged radially on its axis. The gripping tools 32 occupy the entire periphery of the roller. The gripping tools 32 are arranged on the wall 311 of the roller in rows parallel to each other, extending in the longitudinal direction of the roller. Therefore, when they are brought into the extraction position by the rotation of the roller, each row of gripping tools is intended to face a row of eggs moving under the roller, substantially vertically under the roller. The distribution of the gripping tools on the periphery of the roller, namely the angular pitch between two rows of tools and the pitch in distance between two tools of the same row, is adjusted according to the geometry of the egg compartments and their egg receiving cavities.

It is understood that it may advantageously be provided that the pitch between each row of gripping tools is the same as the pitch between each row of cavities in the compartment, so that the speed of rotation of the roller and the speed of movement of the belt do not change throughout the gripping process for a compartment. The speed of rotation of the roller will eventually be modified to adapt to the arrival of a new compartment and will become constant if the pitch between each row of the new compartment is the same as before. However, if the pitch between each row of gripping tools is different from the pitch between each row of the compartment, the control module is provided to allow the speed of the roller to be adapted between each grip so as to bring a row of gripping tools into the extraction position under the roller in synchronism with the passage of a row of eggs under the roller. Depending on the distance remaining to be travelled in the compartment to reach the roller, the control module is adapted to accelerate or slow down the rotation of the roller for an automatically calculated time, so that the first row of eggs is correctly aligned with respect to a row of gripping tools on the roller arranged in the extraction position.

Each gripping tool 32 is provided at its distal end with a suction cup 321, intended to be placed in communication with the main chamber 312 of the roller 31 maintained in depression. More precisely, each suction cup 321 is fixed to one end 322a of a tubular support sleeve 322, which extends radially to the axis of the roller 31, on both sides of the wall 311 of the roller 31. In other words, the other end 322b of the tubular support sleeve 322 is located on the inner side of the roller, opposite the fixing end 322a of the suction cup 321 with respect to the wall 311 of the roller 31. According to the invention, the tubular support sleeve 322 of the suction cup 321 is mounted so as to be movable in translation along its axis through a hole 313 arranged in the wall 311 of the roller 31. The tubular support sleeve 322 of the suction cup 321 is constituted by a hollow tube element, closed at its end 322b opposite the fixing end 322a of the suction cup 321. 321 and open at this last fixing end 322a, so that an internal duct is defined for putting the suction cup 321 into depression by means of an orifice 322c arranged in a side wall of the hollow tube element, allowing a communication to be created between the suction cup 34 mounted on the open fixing end 322a of the hollow tube element and the main chamber 312 arranged inside the roller, kept in depression with respect to the ambient air.

The hollow tube element 322 preferably extends on both sides of the wall 311 of the roller 31, through a wall-passage guide washer 33, which includes a rod 331 protruding from an external face of the wall 311 of the roller 31, along a certain predetermined length. The washer 33 is mounted by a first end 331a, called the fixing end, in the hole 313 of the wall 311 of the roller 31 and the hollow tube element forming the tubular support sleeve 322 of the suction cup 321, is connected by a sliding joint to said guide washer 33, allowing a relative translational movement between the hollow tube element and said guide washer.

The rod 331 of the guide washer 33 includes, for example, a collar at its fixing end 331a, by means of which it is suitable for bearing on an internal peripheral edge of the hole 313 of the wall 311 of the roller 31 on which it is to be mounted. The mounting of the collar on the internal peripheral edge of the hole 313 is carried out by means of a sealing gasket, in order to guarantee the sealing of the roller and the preservation of the low pressure prevailing therein.

In the view of Figure 2, the tubular support sleeve 322 of the suction cup 321 is illustrated in a retracted position inside the roller 31 due to the depression prevailing in the main chamber 312 arranged inside the roller 31. In this retracted position, the tubular support sleeve 322 moves under the effect of the depression prevailing in the roller, so that its end 322b, opposite its suction cup 321 fixing end 322a, approaches substantially the axis of the roller 31. The suction cup fixing end 322a of the tubular support sleeve 322 is suitable for abutting, in this retracted position of the sleeve, against the free end 331b of the washer 33. In other words, in this retracted position of the tubular support sleeve 322, the main part of the latter is housed in the main chamber 312 inside the roller 31. roller 31, in particular the part in which the hole 322c is arranged. In this way, the suction cup 321 is put into depression by means of the hole 322c which puts the suction cup 321 in communication with the internal chamber 312 of the roller. In the retracted position of the tubular support sleeve 32 illustrated in figure 2, the suction cup 321 approaches the external face of the wall 311 of the roller 31.

On the other hand, the suction cup gripping tool 32 is illustrated in Figure 2 in the extraction position. This extraction position is defined when the rotation of the roller 31 relative to the conveyor belt places the suction cup gripping tool 32 substantially perpendicular to the plane defined by the conveyor belt 2, in other words, in a position relative to the conveyor belt 2 in which the suction cup 321 is oriented substantially facing the underlying conveyor belt 2.

Thus, when the suction cup gripping tools 32 carried by the roller 31 reach the extraction position by the rotation of the roller, the corresponding tubular support sleeves 322 are in a retracted position in the roller due to the depression prevailing in the roller and all the suction cups are put in depression by means of the hole 322c which ensures communication with the main depression chamber 312. Furthermore, due to the retracted position of the tubular support sleeves, the suction cups brought into the extraction position relative to the conveyor belt 2 by the rotation of the roller are in an approximate position relative to the external face of the wall 311 of the roller 3. This approximate position of the suction cups 321 is defined in such a way that the suction cups 321, when brought into the extraction position by the rotation of the roller 31, are not in contact with the eggs moving below on the conveyor belt.

It is then provided that the contact with the eggs is selectively controlled only for the suction cups which must extract an egg which has been identified as non-conforming, in order to allow the extraction of this egg by suction and its removal from the belt, while the other suction cups, also brought into the extraction position, but which must not grip an egg, are not controlled so as to come into contact with the eggs and are kept in their position close to the wall of the roller 31, at a distance from the eggs.

This mode of operation is particularly advantageous, as it makes it possible to avoid systematic contact with the eggs by means of all the suction cups moved to the extraction position, such contact being likely to entail health risks.

Control of this selective contact of the suction cups in the extraction position with an egg identified as non-conforming and moving under the roller is based on the implementation of an actuator 34, which makes it possible to selectively control, in the extraction position, the movement of the tubular support sleeve 322 from its retracted position (Figure 2) towards a deployed position in the direction of the conveyor belt 2 (Figure 3), so that the corresponding suction cup 321, in a position remote from the external face of the roller wall, grips the egg identified as non-conforming to be extracted. This mode of operation also has the advantage of being able to effectively guarantee the extraction of the eggs, insofar as the suction cup 321 is forced to move by the control applied to its tubular support sleeve, until it comes into contact with the egg, thus ensuring its correct grip by suction, even when the eggs in movement are likely to vary in size.

The actuator 34 comprises a cylinder 340, which is part of a set of cylinders mounted fixed with respect to the roller, aligned inside the roller, so that each can be selectively controlled by displacing a respective tubular support sleeve of a row of suction cups of the roller, when the latter is brought into the extraction position by rotation of the roller.

The cylinder 340 is arranged such that, when actuated to control the movement of the corresponding suction cup into the extraction position for bringing it into contact with an egg identified as non-compliant, the rod 341 of the cylinder comes into contact against the closed end 322b of the hollow tube constituting the tubular support sleeve of the sleeve and pushes the latter in the direction of the conveyor belt. The tubular support sleeve then assumes a deployed position as illustrated in Figure 3.

In this deployed position, the tubular support sleeve 322 moves towards the conveyor belt under the action of the cylinder rod 341 which pushes the end 322b of the sleeve, which substantially approaches the inner face of the wall 311 of the roller 31. Consequently, the fixing end of the suction cup 321, which was abutting against the free end 331b of the guide washer 33 in the retracted position of the sleeve, moves away radially from it as the sleeve moves under the action of the cylinder and, therefore, the suction cup 321 mounted on the fixing end 322a of the sleeve is brought to the position away from the outer face of the wall 311 of the roller, until it comes into contact with the egg, which can be extracted by suction by the suction cup always kept in depression.

It is essential that the suction cup remains depressed throughout its movement towards the conveyor belt, to allow the egg to be held by suction.

The suction cup 321 is brought into depression by means of the hole 322c, which makes it possible to put the suction cup 321 into communication with the internal chamber 312 of the roller. In the retracted position of the tubular support sleeve 32 illustrated in FIG. 2, it has been observed that the hole 322c is arranged in the main chamber 312 in depression arranged inside the roller 31. It is therefore appropriate to maintain communication between the suction cup and the main chamber by means of the hole 322c along the entire length of the travel path of the sleeve, from its retracted position to its deployed position. This is made possible by the particular configuration of the rod 331 of the wall-through guide washer 33 on which the tubular support sleeve of the suction cup is mounted.

Referring to Figure 7, the inner surface of the rod 331 includes two cylindrical support protuberances, respectively 3311 and 3312, arranged at the respective ends of the rod 331a and 331b, which are intended to act together by sliding with the outer surface of the sleeve 322 mounted on the washer. These two cylindrical support protuberances at the respective ends of the rod are joined together by a retracted inner cylindrical surface 3313, which defines with the outer surface of the sleeve a secondary chamber intended to be connected to the main chamber arranged inside the roller.

For this purpose, as illustrated in the top view of Figure 7, the cylindrical support protuberance 3311, arranged on the side of the fixing end 331a of the rod 331, is provided with a plurality of longitudinal grooves 3314, which allow the secondary chamber arranged along the rod of the guide washer to be put into communication with the main chamber 312 arranged inside the roller 31.

Thus, when the cylinder 34 is actuated to push the tubular support sleeve 322 through the guide washer 33, the depression hole 322c of the suction cup provided in the sleeve is arranged in the secondary chamber arranged in the guide washer 33, which is put into depression thanks to the longitudinal grooves 3314 connecting it to the main chamber 312 arranged in the roller. Thus, the depression hole 322c of the suction cup 321 provided in the tubular support sleeve 322 is always in communication with the main depression chamber 312 of the roller, throughout the entire travel path of the sleeve through the guide washer 33, by means of the secondary chamber, which allows the transfer of the depression to the suction cup. The suction cup is therefore kept under pressure throughout the entire movement of the sleeve, until the suction cup 312 comes into contact with the egg (not shown).

The guide washer 33 therefore advantageously makes it possible to increase the useful displacement range of the sleeve, i.e. the displacement range of the sleeve in which the suction cup is maintained under pressure, by making it possible to “extend” the main depression chamber arranged inside the roller into the secondary chamber arranged inside the washer.

Also shown in Figure 7 is the collar 3310 which protrudes radially at the level of the fixing end 331a of the rod 331 of the guide washer 33, for its fixing at the level of the hole 313 of the wall 311 of the roller 31.

Next, with the egg to be extracted being held by suction in the suction cup 321, the cylinder 34 is controlled so that the cylinder rod 341 is retracted, so that the tubular support sleeve 322 then naturally returns to its retracted position as illustrated in Figure 2, due to the depression prevailing in the roller.

The suction cup 321, to which an egg (not shown) is attached under the effect of suction by means of depression of the suction cup, then continues its rotation, as shown in Figure 4. Substantially at the end of one eighth of a turn from the extraction position, the tubular support sleeve 322 of the suction cup, and more precisely its end 322b, is brought against a cam-forming means 35 extending inside the roller 31 between the inner face of its side wall 311 and its axis of rotation.

The cam 35 is fixedly mounted relative to the roller 31, for example by fixing to one of the end walls 13. The cam 35 has the function of forcing the tubular support sleeve 322 of the suction cup 321 to move outwards during the rotation of the roller, after the extraction position by the suction cup has been reached, until the depression-setting hole 322c of the suction cup 321 is at least partially exposed to the air, when the suction cup 321 is brought by the rotation of the roller to a given angular position corresponding to the release position, for example offset by approximately three quarters of a turn after the extraction position reached by the suction cup. In this position, the hole 322c of the sleeve being exposed to the air, the suction cup 321 is no longer in depression, which allows the egg to be released from the suction cup.

As illustrated in Figures 4 to 6, the end 322b of the tubular support sleeve 322 comes into contact with the initial end of the ramp formed in the cam 35, the profile of which converges towards the inner face of the wall 311 of the roller 31 up to the release position. Due to the effect of the contact between the cam 35 and the end 322b of the tubular support sleeve 322 mounted movable in translation through the guide washer 33, the rotation of the roller 31 drives the displacement of the sleeve towards the outside through the guide washer 33, up to a position called over-deployed of the sleeve, reached when the suction cup 321 is brought to the release position. In this so-called over-deployed position visible in Figure 6, the sleeve 322 is forced to deploy by the effect of contact with the cam 35 during the rotation of the roller, such that its hole 322c opens onto the outside of the guide washer 33, opposite the same with respect to the wall 311 of the roller 31, and is therefore exposed to the air. This arrangement of the hole 322c of the tubular support sleeve 322 of the suction cup brings about the end of the suction of the egg by the suction cup.

The sleeve 322 is referred to as an over-deployed position, in contrast to the deployed position. In the former, the suction cup 321 is no longer in depression, whereas in the latter it remains in depression. In fact, the deployed position of the sleeve 322 corresponds to a position of the sleeve 322 deployed towards the outside of the roller 31 under the effect of the actuator 34, where the suction cup 321 is away from the wall 311 of the roller 31 so as to come into contact with the egg to be extracted and where the depression hole 322c of the suction cup 321 provided in the sleeve 322 remains within the secondary depression chamber arranged in the guide washer 33 to keep the suction cup 321 in depression. On the other hand, the over-deployed position of the sleeve corresponds to a position of the sleeve 322 deployed towards the outside of the roller under the effect of the cam 35 whose profile makes it possible to force the deployment of the sleeve 35 towards the outside until reaching the suction cup release position, where the depression hole 322c of the suction cup 321 opens into the open air at the outlet of the guide washer 322.

Thus, in the over-extended position of the sleeve 322 reached when the suction cup is brought into the release position by rotation of the roller, the suction cup 321 is no longer in depression. As illustrated in FIG. 6, it is advantageously provided that the release position of the suction cup 321 corresponds to a rotation of the roller of at least 180° with respect to the extraction position, the suction cup 321 being positioned substantially vertically under the roller, so that the egg can be released from the suction cup simply by gravity. The egg is released, for example, into a receiving container for eggs identified as non-compliant, for example arranged on a receiving belt, moving perpendicular to the conveyor belt 2, above it, and positioned with respect to the roller such that the eggs released by the effect of gravity from the suction cups arranged in the release position by rotation of the roller, fall into the receiving container.

The roller 31 then continues its rotation cycle during which the suction cup 321 is brought into the extraction position. After the release position, the cam 35 has a recessed profile towards the inside of the roller suitable for allowing the progressive retraction of the tubular support sleeve 322 towards the inside of the roller during the rotation of the latter under the effect of the depression prevailing on the roller, until the sleeve returns to the retracted position illustrated in FIG. 1. During this retraction of the tubular support sleeve, the depression hole 322c of the sleeve is brought into communication with the main depression chamber 312 of the roller, which allows the transfer of this depression to the suction cup 321, which is then ready to be controlled again in extraction during a following rotation cycle of the roller.

Claims (10)

i. Installation for sorting parts moving on a conveyor belt (2) comprising a parts transfer device (3) suitable for selectively removing parts identified as non-conforming from said conveyor belt, the parts transfer device comprising a roller (31) mounted so as to rotate transversely above said conveyor belt and a plurality of gripping tools (32) extending radially on the periphery of said roller, each suitable for selectively removing a part from said conveyor belt when brought to an extraction position defined by a first angular position of said roller and for releasing said removed part when brought to a release position defined by a second angular position of said roller, each gripping tool (32) comprising a suction cup (321) fixed to a tubular support sleeve (322) mounted on said roller (31) and opening into the interior of said roller (31), said tubular support sleeve (322) defining an internal duct provided with a lateral orifice (322c) suitable for creating a communication between said suction cup and a main chamber (312) arranged inside said roller maintained in depression with respect to the ambient air, characterized in that all the suction cups (321) brought to the extraction position are put in depression, each tubular support sleeve (322) being mounted mobile in translation along its axis through a wall (311) of said roller, an actuator (34) being adapted to selectively control, in said extraction position, the movement of said tubular support sleeve (322) in the direction of said conveyor belt so that said suction cup (321) holds said piece to be extracted. 2. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that said tubular support sleeve (322) is constituted by a hollow tube element extending on both sides of the wall (311) of said roller (31), through a wall passage guide washer (33), which includes a protruding rod (331) from an external face of said wall (311), mounted by a first end (331a) in a hole (313) of said wall, said hollow tube element being connected by a sliding joint with said guide washer (33) allowing a relative translation movement between said hollow tube element and said guide washer. 3. Installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the internal surface of said rod (331) includes two cylindrical protuberances (3311, 3312) for supporting an external surface of said hollow tube element (322), arranged at the respective ends of said rod (331), and connected to each other by means of a retracted internal cylindrical surface (3313) defining a secondary chamber, said supporting cylindrical protuberance (3311) arranged on the side of said first end (331a) of said rod being provided with a plurality of longitudinal grooves (3314) intended to put said secondary chamber in communication with said main chamber (312) of the roller. 4. Installation according to claim 3, characterized in that said hollow tube element (322) can move between a retracted position inside the roller (31), under the effect of the depression prevailing in the main chamber (312) arranged inside the roller (31), in which said hole (322c) is in direct communication with said main chamber to transfer the depression to said suction cup (321), and a deployed position towards the conveyor belt (2) under the action of said actuator (34), in which said hole (322c) is in direct communication with said secondary chamber to transfer the depression to said suction cup (321). 5. Installation according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said rod (331) has, at its first end (331a), a collar (3310) by means of which it is suitable for resting on a peripheral edge of said hole (313), by means of a sealing gasket. 6. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuator (34) includes a cylinder mounted inside said roller, adapted to push said tubular support sleeve (322) through said wall of said roller towards the outside of said roller. 7. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a cam-forming means (35) arranged inside said roller, fixed with respect to the rotation of said roller, said cam (35) being profiled so that, during the rotation of said roller after reaching said extraction position, said tubular support sleeve (322) is suitable to meet the cam (35) and follow the cam path so as to force the movement of said tubular support sleeve (322) towards the outside of said roller until said hole (322c) is at least partially exposed to the air, in the position of releasing the gripping tool (32). 8. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first and second angular positions are offset by at least 180° with respect to each other. 9. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a control module (15) adapted to provide instructions on the speed of rotation of said roller, such that the rotation of the suction cups (321) is actuated with a speed and a phase synchronized in the movement of the pieces. 10. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is adapted to the processing of poultry eggs, said transfer device (3) being arranged downstream of a visual inspection station intended to detect non-conforming eggs with a view to their extraction from the conveyor belt (2) by means of said transfer device (3).